If you are not in a position to foster a pet that tugs at your heart strings, consider sponsoring its care.Research
Sadie Mae Foundation Animal Rescue League Inc focuses on saving dogs and cats from shelters with high euthanasia rates and abusive living situations. The bottom-line is, the more foster homes we have = the more lives we save. But don't get swayed into fostering a homeless animal by emotion alone. Fostering a homeless pet is very rewarding, but also demanding. It is important that you learn about fostering and whether or not it is the right decision for your household.

If you are considering becoming a foster parent, please do some research first. Read the Before You Foster section on the right-hand side of this page to learn what you should consider before you foster an animal in ned.
Criteria check
Once you've done some research on foster parenting, it's time to check and see if you meet the criteria for Sadie Mae Foundation's foster program. You must meet all of the criteria to be eligible to foster for our organization:

Location - We are a very small organization that generally works with foster homes within the vicinity of our veterinarian in Bolton, CT. We simply do not have the resources available to support foster homes that are further away geographically. If you are within 30 miles of Bolton, CT then you may apply to be a foster.

Children - The majority of the time, we do not have any background history on our rescued animals. While we do our best to assess the behaviors of all animals prior to placing them in foster/adoptive homes, there are still simply a lot of 'unknowns'. You may not apply to foster dogs if very young children live in your household or visit your residence frequently. We feel it better to err on the side of caution. This prevents undue liability for our rescue and ensures the safety of any young children under your supervision. You can foster cats if you have small children that frequent the home.

Other Pets - If you have pets of your own in your household, all pets in the residence must: 1) be spayed/neutered; 2) be up-to-date on vaccinations; and 3) have no history of aggression toward other animals; in order for you to apply to be a foster. This ensures the safety of your own pets and our rescued animals.

Background - You may apply to foster as long as you: 1) have never been charged with animal cruelty; and 2) are not an animal dealer or broker.

Submit an online foster application
Once you've determined you want to be a foster parent and you've verified you meet the additional criteria of Sadie Mae Foundation's foster program, an online foster application needs to be submitted.

Ensure you have an adequate amount of time to fill-out the form completely, with as much detail as possible. Please note, a common problem applicants encounter when filling-out the application is ensuring every field is completed. If you attempt to Submit your application, and it is incomplete, an immediate message will display telling you what fields are incomplete. If you do not complete those fields and re-submit your application, we will not receive it. If your application is successfully submitted, an immediate message will display.

If you have a veterinarian you've used in the past, have the vet's information handy before you begin filling-out the foster application. Having personal references for us to contact is also very helpful. Click here to access our online foster application.
Email/Phone interviews
Every foster application is reviewed by a representative of Sadie Mae Foundation. We will make every effort to contact you via an email or telephone communication within 3 days; however it may take longer. We ask for your patience. Every person involved in our organization is a volunteer, performing rescue duties outside of their normal day jobs, family responsibilities etc.

Email and phone interviews benefit us both. We will ask follow-up questions to the responses provided on your online foster application and you will have the opportunity to ask us specific questions about our foster program. The goal of the conversation is: 1) for us to get a good understanding of your family/household/lifestyle and the kinds of animals you would be willing to foster; and 2) for you to get a good understanding of the fostering process.
Reference check
Sadie Mae Foundation checks the references of all applicants to ensure its animals are being fostered in a safe environment with loving people.

If you provided veterinary references in your online foster application or during the email/phone interviews, now is the time to contact them. Let your current/past vets know that you have applied to foster an animal from Sadie Mae Foundation. Many vets will not talk to our organization about your vet file unless you give them the 'okay'. Simply call your vets and tell them to put a note in the file, stating it is okay to provide us with your current/past pet's medical histories if we call them.

If you provided personal references in your online foster application or during the email/phone interviews, make sure you let them know we may be calling.
Home visit
If the email/phone interviews go well, and both you and the organization agree to move forward, a day and time will be scheduled so that a representative of Sadie Mae Foundation can perform a home visit.

The purpose of the home visit is multifaceted. During the visit, you will have an opportunity to ask any remaining questions or express any concerns you may have about the fostering process. We will inspect the home and surrounding area to ensure it is a safe environment for a foster animal. As we see the layout of your home, we will often make recommendations on how to best introduce your new foster into the home and how best to set-up an area for him/her during the transitioning stages of the foster process. Remember our goal is to ensure the pet you are fostering is the right match for you and the animal.
Foster decision
All information gathered up until this point is reviewed. This is the final stage of the foster sign-up process. You will be notified of your foster approval/disapproval in a timely manner.

If Sadie Mae Foundation has approved your foster application, you will be required to sign a foster agreement. Click here to see a sample foster agreement.

Please note that foster homes must be fully committed to giving the animal at least 2 weeks to adjust to their new surroundings. Transitioning to a new home environment is a highly stressful event for any animal; an event that should not be taken lightly. We will not consider approving a foster home which has not given this serious thought. The Sadie Mae Foundation is happy to offer suggestions and is always available for support and resources.

Before You Foster

Before You Foster
We at Sadie Mae Foundation want nothing more than to see every animal's life spared - and having foster homes available helps us do just that, but caring for a foster pet is a responsibility not to be taken lightly.
If you are considering becoming a foster parent, we recommend you check out the following resources before making the decision to foster:

"FosterDogs.Com - This website provides information about fostering, for those thinking about becoming a foster parent. Learn: 1) what fostering is all about; 2) what fostering is not; and 3) what it means to get involved in fostering. Visit www.fosterdogs.com

"Becoming a foster parent: Are you ready?" - This article is written by Melissa Bahleda, a certified canine trainer and behavior counselor who specializes in rescuing and rehabilitating homeless dogs. It discusses fostering and how to evaluate if your household is really ready to foster. Click here to read the article.